Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida, January Term, A.D. 2009
Opinion filed March 4, 2009.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D08-2377
Lower Tribunal No. 07-21484
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Citigroup Realty, Inc., a Florida corporation, and
Enrique Enriquez, Sr. individually,
Appellants,
vs.
Noelia Valdes,
Appellee.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Sarah I. Zabel,
Judge.
Arnaldo Velez, for appellants.
Pardo & Gainsburg and Jeffrey J. Pardo, for appellee.
Before WELLS, SUAREZ, and SALTER, JJ.
WELLS, Judge.
Citigroup Realty, Inc. and its qualifying real estate broker, Enrique
Enriquez, appeal from a final summary judgment awarding damages to Noelia
Valdes for allegedly earned, but unpaid, real estate sales commissions. Because
material fact issues exist, we reverse.
The judgment on appeal stems from an alleged oral employment agreement
between Valdes, a real estate agent, and Citigroup, a licensed real estate brokerage
firm, and its qualifying agent, Enrique Enriquez. According to Valdes’ complaint,
Citigroup/Enriquez and Valdes orally agreed that Valdes would procure purchasers
ready, willing and able to purchase real estate, and, upon execution of purchase
and sales agreements by such purchasers, would become unconditionally entitled
to 80% of any real estate commission paid to Citigroup and Enriquez at the closing
of such sales:
At all times material hereto, Valdes and Defendants had an oral
commission agreement whereby Valdes would be paid eighty percent
(80%) of the real estate commissions earned on real estate for which
Valdes procured a ready, willing, and able buyer (the “Contract”). By
the terms of their Contract:
a. Valdes’s duties were limited to procuring a ready, willing and able
buyer for real property.
b. Once a contract was signed, Valdes would be entitled to her share
of the commission, and
c. At closing of the contract, Defendan